Monday, February 8, 2016

“The Most Toxic War in History” – 25 Years Later

This month marks the 25th anniversary of the start of
Operation Desert Storm, the combat phase of the Gulf War. Precipitated
by Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait in August 1990, the conflict
was the first to see the widespread use of depleted uranium (DU)
ammunition. US and UK forces subsequently acknowledged firing a combined
286,000kg of DU – the vast majority of which was fired by US Abrams and
M60 tanks, and A10 and Harrier aircraft.

The decision to deploy the radioactive and chemically toxic weapons,
which had been under development since the 1950s as a response to Cold
War concerns over defeating Soviet armoured divisions, would prove
highly contentious in the following years. Once the media and military’s enthusiasm for what was promoted as a new paradigm in high-tech low-casualty warfare began to subside, veterans, journalists and civil society organisations in the US and UK increasingly began to challenge the general conduct of the war, and the use of DU in particular.

This was largely to be expected, and had been anticipated just six months before the conflict in a US military study on the environmental and health risks of DU: “Public
relations efforts are indicated, and may not be effective due to the
public’s perception of radioactivity. Fielding and combat activities
present the potential for adverse international reaction.” Those
wishing to continue to use DU weapons recognised that they would need to
plan vigorous public relations efforts in order to justify their
continued use, a pattern that continues today. Following 1991, this saw
DU branded as the “Silver Bullet” – a weapon capable of such astonishing
feats, and so militarily important, that any concerns over its
potential health or environmental impacts should be disregarded.

“The most toxic war in history”

As increasing numbers of veterans began to report post-deployment
health problems in the years that followed, attention began to focus on
the overall toxicity
of the conflict. From oil fires and pesticides, to the use and disposal
of chemical weapons, the Gulf War was increasingly viewed as “the most
toxic in history”. Whether it was – conflict pollution had been
developing in concert with the mechanisation of warfare and
industrialisation throughout the 20th Century, or whether
this just represented a growing awareness of the linkages between
chemicals and health is a matter of debate. Nevertheless, questions were
asked about whether possible exposures to a suite of chemicals could be
responsible for the ailments reported by veterans. These ranged from
birth defects to chronic fatigue, and led to the emergence of the catch
all term Gulf War Syndrome (GWS).